0535 - wake up and smell the coffee

I have been awake for the past FOUR HOURS!!! While my lil sis and lil bro were and still are snoring away in their dreamlands, I have kept myself awake to finish my summary on Hobbes' Leviathan and Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. It has to be submitted before 5pm today, we have to upload it through our e-learning website (it's kinda cool, this is my first time you know, let me be excited for a while lah) --> http://adec.um.edu.my/code/login/index.php (you can login as a guest to check out some cool literature-related stuff there, mostly notes, powerpoint presentation, mozart and bach compositions etc.)

I've already uploaded my summary. Earlier on I had some difficulties with the texts because it was written in late 17th early 18th century if I'm not mistaken. So naturally, the language would be quite different from ours, an evident of the evolution of language so as to speak :P. Need to start sounding like an academic soon because by the end of this term, I have to hand in my proposal for the dissertation...erk, seram woo!! Coming back to the original story; after talking to Y*ng Ji* I found out that we are NOT required to read the original texts, we can choose either to stick to the texts or to find secondary sources i.e. criticism or analysis of the text. (ceh...ceh...ceh, why la he didn't tell in the class earlier!) So yesterday I looked up for critical analysis and criticism on these two texts (it's easier to understand secondary sources rather than the primary ones, but it doesn't mean you should solely depend on the secondary) online (yes, we must be IT-savvy but not piracy n plagiarism savvy!!). I didn't have much time to read the analysis at the office, so I just bookmarked some links and downloaded some texts. The online analysis provides sufficient information for a summary, but the dangers that lie beneath them are:

1) analyses would usually use easy-to-comprehend language (at least those available online like the Sparksnotes etc.), the challenge lies in paraphrasing a simple sentence into yet another simple sentence (vocab ah must be very 'powderful') without sounding too much like the original text.

2) everybody has the access to your online sources and chances are if you are the CNP (copy and paste) type, you'd be found out -- fyi, i'm a very responsible student when it comes to citing appropriately ok :P (jangan amalkan cetak rompak harta intelek).

3) your lecturer would know that your understanding of the original texts is only on the surface level. if you are asked to quote Hobbes ideas in his texts, you would probably have some difficulties because you are summarizing from some other people's critical interpretation and understanding.

So moral of the story, try to read the original or primary text /source before you lay you hands on the secondary materials. Or at least, after reading the secondary materials, try to read the primary lah.

All right then, I'd better stop here now. The muazzin is about to call for Subuh prayer. Jangan ponteng solat people!

(after that we can sleep hahahaha)